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| Book about the Kyoto-based kimono maker Chiso. |
The Worcester Art Museum had a significant exhibit of kimono history in 2021, entitled The Kimono in Print: 300 Years of Japanese Design. I didn't make it to that show, celebrating Japan's national costume, but am grateful for the internet's ability to give me a fair substitute for in-person attendance.
An interactive online exhibit, The Beauty of Chiso: Kimono Couture, features the almost 500-year-old Chiso textile firm, based in Kyoto. Chiso developed a unique kimono for the Worcester Art Museum exhibit - the fabric design is featured on the cover of the book, above. The publication accompanying the exhibit, in the image above, includes chapters on the long history of Chiso, sources of inspiration, innovations in surface design, and the kimono development process. In addition to two dozen color plates and additional illustrations, the book also has a useful glossary and a graphic explaining the components of a kimono. I love the fabric design in the image below, Plate 17 in the book.
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| Tatsuta River Design, silk crepe, 1890, designer Imao Keinen. |
Catalog ISBN: 978-1-911282-66-2
